


perfect arrangements

by Crawlingthroughashes



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M, Miscommunication, Pining, Post-Canon, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-06 03:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8732974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crawlingthroughashes/pseuds/Crawlingthroughashes
Summary: It had seemed logical, practical even, for them to become roommates. They were already familiar with the others' annoying habits, they liked the same snack food, and they were comfortable around each other. It was the perfect arrangement, aside from one minor caveat.  Bart fell in love.





	

Winter seemed colder when you were sleeping alone.

And not just from the whole lack of body heat aspect. Even under the covers, Bart's whole body felt brittle, numb, his insides scraped raw. It was the sort of residual chill that lurked beneath the skin rather than on the surface. 

He'd left their shared apartment with nothing to account for his absence but a hastily scrawled note. He'd written something about needing a change of scenery and wanting to find a place more convenient. Or something like that. The note had been brief, impersonal. It was less painful that way. And he didn't regret it. Or more accurately, he wouldn't allow himself to. 

Bart's new apartment was cheaper rent, located in the less inviting part of Central City, and about as far from their shared Texas apartment as he could get. His window provided him the stellar view of yet another apartment complex, and nothing more. But despite the obvious downgrade, his room seemed a whole lot bigger than it had before. Maybe not necessarily in size, but it was so vacant without the dentistry textbooks and family photos and posters of bands Bart had never even heard of. 

His room was sparsely furnished, the walls that encompassed him now were bare, and so starkly different that it was almost disorienting. He no longer had the sound of soft, even breathing to lull him to sleep. It was quiet. A weighty sort of quiet that he'd fill if he could. He'd even take Jaime's snoring over this. 

Though, really, he'd take Jaime over anything. 

In the beginning it had seemed logical—practical, even, for them to become roommates. They were already familiar with the others' annoying habits, they liked the same snack food, and they were comfortable around each other.

Jaime was kind and patient (most of the time) and he never asked questions when Bart awoke with tears on his cheeks and a silent scream lodged in his throat. 

They weren't going to the same university or anything—Bart's wasn't even in the same state, but with super speed, getting to classes on time wasn't much of a hassle.  
Jaime was studying to become a dentist, while Bart was... still undecided. He'd thought maybe a gym teacher, something working with kids would be crash. He didn't think it was right to pursue athletics, given his inhuman abilities, but helping others with their athletic dreams seemed okay.

Distance was never an issue. Bart's university could be located on the other side of the globe and rooming with Jaime would still be preferable. After all, why choose to be in close proximity with a complete stranger when he could room with someone he already shared memories with, who understood his quirks. 

Really, sharing an apartment was the perfect arrangement between the two.  
Except for just one tiny minor caveat.

 _Bart fell in love._

When he was a teenager, back when they were both young and admittedly more naive, Bart had been able to shrug off his lingering stares and stolen glances. He could chalk up the breathlessness in his chest that occurred when Jaime was around to leftover adrenaline from missions and battles.  
He came to the past to stop Blue Beetle, so it made sense that he was fixated on Jaime a lot. And it also made sense that that fixation would continue in his subconscious, would carry through to his dreams. 

When they moved in together, Bart had to stop fooling himself. 

Normal teammates, normal _friends_ just didn't look at each other like that. It wasn't normal to feel irrational guilt when your friend stepped out of the shower, dripping wet and clad in only a small towel with muscles _(ohfuck his muscles)_ on clear display. And abs. Really impressive ones. That Bart had way too many inappropriate thoughts over. 

If it was just sexual attraction, he could've gotten over it. Would've forced himself to. But it wasn't.  
And how could it be, when Jaime Reyes smiled like _that_ , all tentative and earnest. He had the cutest pout, and his laugh was, well a bit reserved, sure, but still perfect. How could he not fall for Jaime, who was possibly the most attractive and genuinely good person to have ever lived. Seriously. Bart seen the future, lived in it, and any competition was sorely lacking. 

It was wrong to take advantage of Jaime like that. Wrong to hide under the innocent pretense of friends when his feelings could never be that simple.

He hoped Jaime never found out about the feelings he'd harboured for so long. He didn't think he'd ever be prepared to face the inevitable disgust he'd find on the others' face. 

"Shit," he breathed, scrubbing a hand over his stinging cheeks. He was a bad friend. Probably a bad person, too. 

He felt cold, covered in a layer of ice that would never thaw. His hands trembled as be pulled his blankets tighter around himself, his mind reverting to innocent bed sharing on nights when the thermostat refused to cooperate. How warm Jaime always was, even when the air around them was frigid. How nice he always smelled, how comforting his body heat and closeness was. 

Keeping his feelings a secret, indulging in fantasies that weren't exactly g-rated... It wasn't fair to Jaime. But it was more than that. 

It wasn't fair to himself. 

* * *

"We've detected several anomalies along the east coast, and boom tube activity in southern Kahndaq. Beta Squad will investigate the former, and Gamma will try to locate the source of the latter." Aqualad's eyes swept over the group congregated around him in a languid circle. His eyes were the color of seafoam, but as hard as ice. His voice was gentler, almost smooth, like the trickle of water over river stones. Bart only half-listened as he read out the teams, but snapped back to attention when he heard his own name being called. 

"Gamma squad will consist of Kid Flash, Static Shock, and Robin." 

"Kid Flash?" Jaime's voice echoed. Bart stared resolutely at the floor. He couldn't bring himself to look at Jaime, to witness the betrayal that was likely splashed across his face. "Why is Bart on Gamma Squad? We're assigned partners." 

Aqualad didn't even blink. "He requested a change." 

"Why?" Jaime demanded. He was shouting now, in front of their entire team, and this time Bart did look at him. It wasn't hard to locate him among the other heroes. Bart's eyes found him easily, as if by some unseen magnetic pull. Hurt and anger clashed across Jaime's face, and his eyebrows were drawn close together. "We've been partners for years." 

"I hope I can trust you to keep your personal lives separate from League business." 

That was one thing Bart liked about Aqualad. Well, that and he was pretty easy on the eyes. But he was a good leader. He didn't ask questions and he respected boundaries. It had made switching teams easier than it would have with someone like Nightwing in charge, someone who made it no secret how much they enjoyed a bit of gossip.

"If there are no further questions, you are all dismissed." There was a note of finality in Kaldur's tone, and Bart took that as his cue to hightail it out of there. He fled at superspeed,before any altercation between him and Jaime could take place. They'd have to talk things out eventually, but for now he needed time. Time to work up an alibi, a justification as to why he left their apartment. He also needed time to get over him, and come to terms with his hopeless crush. 

Fighting maybe wasn't the best outlet for his inner turmoil, but at least this way he could channel his frustrations into something productive. 

Their investigation didn't yield many results. They knew there was a link between boom tube activity and New Genesis, but the correlation wasn't very clear. 

In the end, all they really had to show for their labour was inconclusive evidence and speculations. 

Kahndaq provided a pleasant change of scenery, but by the end of the mission Bart wanted nothing more than to hurry up and log in the mission report and take a hot shower. In spite of his enhanced healing abilities, his muscles ached and his joints protested every movement. Even he had limits. 

Bart slipped off his goggles and hood as he trailed behind Robin. He only stopped when he caught wind of voices from the adjacent room. It was a public, open part of the Watchtower, and yet he still felt as though he were trespassing. Inside the room were the members of Beta squad. He hadn't realized they were already back. 

"-unnecessary roughness. It's not like you," Conner admonished in a low voice. 

_Damn._ If Superboy was the one berating someone for being rough...

"Tell that to the scarab," Jaime muttered. 

"I thought you had full control over it?" 

"I do!" Jaime threw his hands up in frustration. "It's hard to focus when I already have that damned beetle yelling at me. I don't need that from you too." His voice cracked through the air like a whip. Nausea sputtered to life in Bart's stomach, anxiety surging with each expelled breath. He'd never seen Jaime this on edge. Not for a long time, anyway. And he certainly wasn't the type to talk back and question authority. 

Conner sighed, deciding on taking a more conciliatory approach. Bart stared from afar, analyzing Jaime's expression for what must have been a solid minute, before his former roommate took notice. 

Bart mentally prepared himself for the ensuing argument, what excuses he would whip out, how he could assuage Jaime's anger. He didn't quite know what to expect, but he was probably in for a lot of shouting.

Jaime stared back at him, but he didn't come over. He didn't yell or shout or demand an explanation. He said nothing at all.

And somehow, that was so much worse. 

* * *

Bart rifled through the haphazard mess of notebooks and binders cluttering his desk. He'd never been particularly neat, and that was a trait he and Jaime shared. Their apartment had never been organized, but they were two university students existing off pizza and ramen. A bit of messiness was to be expected. His new apartment was no different, but he at least managed to keep his used clothes and his workbooks in separate piles on the floor. 

"Dammit." His note weren't here. He had an exam first thing tomorrow and there was no way he was going to be able to just guess his way through it. But if they weren't here, that meant he'd left them behind. At Jaime's apartment. 

This was so moded. He could text Jaime and ask if he could pick it up. But that would mean he'd have to face the bombardment of unread texts Jaime had sent him back when he first left their apartment. He wasn't ready to face that. Somethings were better to just ignore. 

Okay. So, texting Jaime was out. He could just show up? But somehow he doubted that would go over well either.

That left him with one option. He could sneak in while Jaime was out, grab his workbook, and leave. Jaime would be none the wiser. 

Bart slipped on his Kid Flash uniform. He didn't want to risk anyone seeing regular Central City student Bart Allen running at unnatural speeds. His hand coasted down to the lightning bolt emblem that was emblazoned across his chest. He pressed down on it, reverting his costume to black and grey. It was time for stealth mode. 

Strangely, Bart felt more nervous now than he did during actual missions. He supposed it was normal, though. It was one thing to sneak around thugs and criminals. It was entirely different doing so to his friend. Teammate. 

He sped past the complex's security cameras, knowing that he'd only show up as a blur of yellow. If they managed to detect him at all. He phased through the apartment door with ease, his heart picking up as soon as he was inside. The lights were off. It was silent. Jaime was probably out, either studying at the library or off with Brenda and Paco, or maybe even with Tye and his girlfriend Asami. 

Bart strode past the sink and and the counter, his footfalls almost as heavy as his heart. He faltered in front of their fridge, before opening it. It was stocked with food, though not much of it was of the healthy variety. It was weird seeing everything so normal, knowing that things had continued on without his presence. Had Jaime gotten a new roommate? It had been weeks now since he'd left. A new roommate would help cut the rent cost. Company would be good for Jaime. Bart knew from experience that Jaime brooded when he was alone. 

What would Jaime's new roommate be like? Would it be another guy? Someone laid-back and easy to joke around with, to fill the void Bart had left. Or would it be a girl, someone sweet and friendly. An ugly jealousy bubbled up in his stomach. It was a jealousy that he had no right to, but it wasn't exactly a feeling he had control over. 

_Focus,_ he thought to himself. He was here to get his missing workbook, then leave. Not to wallow in self pity and regret the decisions that he'd had no choice but to make. 

Bart scanned their apartment, searching his now vacant desk, and the one that Jaime occupied. Zero, zilch, zip, nada, nothing. There was no sign of it anywhere, not under the bed, not in the kitchen. He exhaled heavily. All this for one crummy notebook. If he had a friend in his class, he could just ask them for the notes. But it was hard maintaining a social life when he was constantly called away on Team business. He hadn't been to a single frat party, or accepted any of his classmates' invitations to go for drinks. In retrospect, Bart didn't really do much interacting. He'd never felt a need for it, before now. What was the point in letting acquaintances and classmates he didn't really care for monopolize his time, when he could be spending it with Jaime? Though now, he didn't even do that. 

Lost in thought, he narrowly avoided tripping over one of Jaime's discarded shirts. Huh. Bart dropped to his knees, before sorting through Jaime's seemingly endless repertoire of hoodies. 

"Ah hah!" There, at the very bottom, was his workbook. 

He jumped to his feet with every intention of leaving. Except, he couldn't. Because there was someone else in the doorway. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"I..." His mouth was impossibly dry. "I was just..." 

"Breaking and entering," Jaime noted.

"I live here," was his instant rebuttal.

"Not anymore you don't."

"Well, I didn't break in. I just phased through the door."

Jaime didn't look impressed. "Did you need something?"

Bart held his book up. Jaime didn't react. He slowly let his arm fall back to his side. "Are... are you mad?"

"What do you think?"

"Ok, I know you're pissed-"

"Your observation skills are remarkable," Jaime quipped. There was no humour in his tone.

"Look, I didn't have a choice."

_"No me des esa mierda."_

Bart wasn't fluent in Spanish, but he'd gleaned enough off of Jaime over the years to have a general idea of what he was saying. "I didn't okay!"

"Really. You had no choice but to just leave with nothing but a note? I didn't even notice it right away. And when you didn't come home I thought something might've happened. And then when I _did see the note I thought, this can't be right, this must've been forged or something because Bart would never do something this monumentally shitty."_

Bart knew Jaime was angry when he started using words longer than three syllables. "Look, I know this was totally not crash of me and I get that, but I had to leave."

"Why?"

"Why?" Bart repeated dumbly.

"Don't you think you at least owe me that much?"

"I... I can't tell you."

"Really."

"Jaime, Blue, please. Just trust me on this."

When no answer came, Bart babbled on, desperate to fill the voice forming between them. "I really, really can't."

"Then why are you still here?"

The words lanced through him like a knife. A knife that he entirely deserved. "Right. I'm um. I'm going."

Jaime didn't reply. He seemed far too engrossed in his phone to spare Bart a second glance.

Bart ducked his head, striding past Jaime. As he was on his way out, he noticed a familiar note resting on the kitchen table. It was crumpled, as if it had been examined and read many times. 

* * *

"Don't you think this has gone on long enough?" Cassie asked, squaring an ankle over her leg.

Bart pried his eyes off the television screen. "Er, what?"

"You and Jaime." 

He could barely refrain from rolling his eyes. Of course. "Is this why you invited me over?" he asked, looking from Cassie to Tim. 

"Bart, don't get the wrong idea. We love you. But we don't give up date night for any old reason." 

He so did not want to deal with this right now. He'd anticipated that tonight was going to help him get his mind off Jaime. Being interrogated seemed counter productive. "Tim," Bart pleaded. 

Tim held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Wasn't my idea. But, uh, Cas is right. I'm pretty sure the whole Team knows something's up with you two." 

"Nothing's up! We're just enjoying some space." 

Cassie's grin widened dangerously. "Don't make me use my lasso of truth on you." 

"Wouldn't that count as an abuse of your powers?" 

"What, like you've never used your powers for something other than good." 

Point taken. "What do you want me to say?" 

"For starters, why don't you tell us what happened? Nothing leaves this room."

Oh, geez. If he wanted a counselling session he'd talk to Black Canary. "Nothing happened." 

"You two didn't have a fight?" 

"No!" 

"Then why'd you ask not to be assigned with him on missions?" 

"I just needed the space." His words sounded flimsy, even to his own ears. 

"And have you had enough space?" 

The whole point of switching apartments was so that he'd be able to get over Jaime. But the thought of his smile, of his laugh... it still made his insides warm. "Not yet." _I'm trying._ He really was. He wanted these inconvenient feelings to just go away. He wanted to be able to go back to being friends with Jaime, without all the accompanying guilt. "I'm just trying to work somethings out, I guess," he added. He knew Cassie, and by extension Tim, were just trying to help. He appreciated their concern, even if it was kind of annoying. 

"Well, you better work it out soon. He'll be here in about... two minutes?" 

"'He' who?" Bart asked, even though he was fairly certain he already knew the answer. Tim offered him a sympathetic wince. "You guys did _not._ " 

"Sorry Bart. Someone had to intervene. Just be glad it was us and not Batman." 

Before he could compose a response, the doorbell rang. His eyes darted wildly, searching for some form of escape. He could phase through the walls. Or even jump out the window, if it came to it. 

"Hey, Blue!" Cassie greeted. "You're early!" 

Jaime smiled, but before he could return any pleasantries, his eyes landed on Bart. His face slackened with surprise. 

Bart held up a hand in greeting. Jaime didn't return the gesture. 

Cassie surveyed the both of them. "Right, well, Time and I are going to go pick up some pizza, so you two watch the place while we're gone." 

Tim dutifully followed her out, closing the door behind him. Jaime stood in front of the doorframe, his hands curling and uncurling at his sides. He cleared his throat. "Did... you know about this?" 

Bart shook his head wordlessly. Jaime looked good. It made his chest hurt just looking at him. 

"So you're not going to talk to me? At all?" 

"I..." Shit. Why was this so difficult? 

Jaime shifted closer. "D-did I do something?" All the vitriol drained from his voice. "Does this have to do with the future when I... When blue beetle...?"

Bart's jaw dropped. "What? No! Blue, we've been over this. I don't blame you for that because it wasn't your fault and it wasn't even you and we've crashed the mode so that future technically no longer exists. I'm the only one that actually remembers it and I'm over it. I'm... it's a part of the past."

"Okay, well, if I did do something that made you uncomfortable or something, I'm sorry. Please just-just tell me so I can make it up."

Bart could barely force the words from his throat. "You didn't."

"Then why? Bart you can't just stop being roommates with someone and ignore them out of the blue."

_Heh, Blue._

"We're supposed to be fr- _teammates._ We're teammates. So talk to me."

Bart's lower lip wobbled. "I just... can't do this anymore." 

"Do what? Is it... Is it Khaji da?"

"What? No!" If anything, the scarab had become sort of endearing. For a sociopathic alien AI it could be oddly... Charming? At times?

"Does it bother you hearing me talk to the scarab?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why?" The muscles in Jaime's jaw bunched from how tightly he was clenching it. "You can't just do this to people. It's a really... It's a real shitty thing to do. You just left without saying something. And a post it note doesn't count! I was worried about you and I just. I don't understand!" His voice rose in volume, and Bart's first instinct was to shout back. So he did.

"I'm in love with you!" He repeated it again, low and shameful. "I'm in love with you." 

"You..." Jaime's mouth opened and closed several times. Bart felt sick. "You're in love with me so you left me without a proper explanation? Bart what kind of logic is that?"

"I thought you'd be mad," he whispered.

"Well you're not wrong about that. Generally when you avoid your friends, and don't answer any of their texts, they tend to get pretty upset."

He stared. Had Jaime not heard him right? "Why aren't you yelling at me?"

"Qué?" 

"I had feelings for you all this time. I took advantage of you and I kept it from you, and on that one mission where we saved that really pretty girl in Dallas and she kept asking about you and I sort of maybe implied you were gay so that she'd stop because I was jealous and I'm _so sorry._ I know you don't like me and I'm sorry I did that." 

Jaime blinked several times in quick succession as he processed his words. Ater a good few seconds of silence, Jaime stepped forward, brushing away the tear Bart hadn't even noticed on his cheek. "Bart, how could you think I don't like you? _Ay dios mio._ Bart I've... We've slept in the same bed. There have been nights where I'd hold you until you fall asleep." 

_Only after nightmares,_ he wanted to protest.

"Bart, I care about you."

That didn't mean a whole lot. Barry and Iris and Artemis cared about him. Even Cassie and Tim cared about him, in their own meddlesome way. He sure hoped Jaime at the very least cared, after all they'd been through. "But do you love me?" That is so not what he meant to ask. At times like these, he really hated his lack of filter. 

For a moment Jaime merely stared, his face disclosing nothing. 

"Fuck," Bart muttered. "Never mi—"

"Very much." 

"What?" 

Jaime looked less confident repeating himself. "I love you very much." 

"You..." He shook his head almost desperately. His eyes were stinging, as if he'd just gone on a really fast run in a really dusty area without his goggles to protect his eyes.  
"You can't." He'd prepared himself for the knowledge that his feelings would never be reciprocated. He knew they never could be. It didn't make sense. He brought his hands to his face, to hide his tears from view, to wipe them away, maybe, but once his hands were on his cheeks he didn't quite know what to do with them.

Jaime stepped forward, gently prying Bart's hands away. He didn't let go of them, opting instead to place a gentle kiss to the inside of his wrist, right on his pulsepoint. "Bart, how could I not?"

He sniffled. "You call me 'hermano.' That means brother. That's really weird Jaime!"

Jaime rolled his eyes. "It's more of like calling you "bro." And when is the last time I've called you that?"

"I-I don't know." He didn't. It couldn't have been that long ago, could it? His throat constricted painfully as he swallowed. There was a part of him that wondered if Jaime was lying or joking, but Bart knew he wasn't capable of something so mean. "We could've been doing this for ages," he said, staring at where Jaime's lips had touched him.

"We could have," Jaime agreed. His expression was soft, smile lines dotting the corner of his dark brown eyes. 

"And other things," Bart couldn't manage to shut up. "I mean, fuck, Jaime, how many times can a guy walk around shirtless?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Not unless you don't mind me eye-fucking you." 

Jaime's cheeks colored, a ruddy hue under his tanned skin. Bart had never seen him blush this badly before. 

"And oh my god, your jeans. Could they get any tighter? Don't get me wrong, they looked really good but it was torture. I felt so guilty about checking you out. Fuck. I can't believe this." 

Jaime laughed. "If it makes you feel better, there have been times when I've noticed you too?"

"Really?" Bart asked, hoping he didn't sound too overeager. 

"Um, yeah." He coughed. "I mean, your uniform _is_ spandex." 

"And what exactly did you notice about me?" 

"Do I have to answer that?" 

Bart grinned. "I'll let you off easy this time." 

"How generous." Despite Jaime's serious tone, he couldn't keep the smile off his face. "You know, scarab was really mad that you left."

Bart laughed in disbelief. "No way."

"I'm serious! Khaji kept taking it out on me. Said I'd ruined my chances of copulating by scaring off my most suitable mate."

_"Hesaidwhatnow?"_

Jaime paled, as if only just realizing what he'd said. "Scarab-it-those weren't my words! I was just repeating..." He trailed off weakly. 

"If you say so, Jaime." The doorbell rang once more, interrupting their tête-à-tête.

Bart opened the door, revealing Tim and Cassie, the former with a stack of pizza boxes. 

"Let me help you with that." Bart took the pizza from Tim, before shutting the door and locking it at super speed. 

"Bart, what the hell?" 

"Sorry Cassie, but I don' want to ruin date night for just anyone." 

He passed off a couple boxes to Jaime, and together they curled up on the couch, resolutely ignoring Cassie's shouts from the hallway that she'd unleash the wrath of Zeus if they didn't unlock the door. 

"Were you serious about what you said?" Jaime asked.

"Which part?" 

"About this being date night?" 

"O-oh. I mean, if that's crash with you." 

Jaime nudged him. "Totally crash, ese." 

Despite his tone, Bart could tell there was something else on his mind. He raised an eyebrow. 

"Do you think we can go back to being roommates?" Jaime asked softly. "It's just... not the same. Without you." 

Bart understood what he meant all too well. He reached over the pizza to lace their hands together. Jaime's were a little sweaty, but Bart was willing to accept his clammy palms if it meant being with him. "I think we can make some sort of arrangement."

 

**Author's Note:**

> it's been like... eight months? i think? since i last wrote a bluepulse fic?? i hope it's ok


End file.
